


All For The Sake Of Science

by TheMockingCrows



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Alternate Universe, Bulges and Nooks, Double Penetration, Happy Sex, Incest, Many Varied Lap Snausages, Multi, One big happy poly pile, Slime, Species Swap, Tentabulges, Trollstuck, Xenobiology, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 09:49:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15264843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMockingCrows/pseuds/TheMockingCrows
Summary: After winning the game, the Beta kids find that not only has their living situation changed as they can all finally have a big house together to live as a happy foursome, but so has their bodies down to the DNA. While they adjusted to some of the more basic aspects of their new bodies quite fine on their own and with guidance from the surviving Alternian's, some of the more intimate details were still a shameful and sometimes terrifying mystery for them to figure out. Can a bit of sexy volunteer science help them figure out their new shapes and finally get the tangled up first time of their dreams? Or will the physical differences between the blood colors make everything far too confusing for the first time trolls?





	All For The Sake Of Science

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cloudinkling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudinkling/gifts).



> While I'm not used to writing trolls at all, this turned out to be quite a fun fill to work on! I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.
> 
> tumblr crosspost: http://themockingcrows.tumblr.com/post/176339251802

     Blue blooded strength seemed to have some major perks, John was discovering. It made swinging his hammer even more effortless than before, and he was pretty sure that he would be able to lift any fridge or safe in his childhood home combined without breaking much of a sweat. He was able to help rearrange the furniture in the home he shared with Rose, Dave and Jade any time they felt like they wanted a change or needed to clean underneath things without wanting to try tapping Jade's space powers, and changing and build on to the house was extremely simple to help with. Though it made him a little sad to think too long on, John was certain his father would be incredibly proud, albeit confused, if he could see him now.

     It was good to feel useful and fulfilled, and sort of made the whole shock of the sudden change more palatable. When the game had finally been won and everyone had walked through the doorway, they'd assumed all that awaited them was a new world to shape and guard. Instead, they got their new world to nurse and tend and new forms to go along with it. The humans now matched the Alternian's and had had so much to learn and deal with that sometimes they found themselves longing for the fractured, dying universe they'd left behind.

     The former humans wound up cloistering together with their closest friends once the excitement of a new life began to wear off and reality set in. There was so much to learn, so much to spend eternity with now, and the Alternian's could only teach so much. Basic dietary needs that would need to be met on top of foods they already enjoyed, new ways to care for their skin, their horns, their sharp teeth, their powers and in Rose and Roxy's cases their gills. Everything else just needed experimentation and experience with as they learned their individual needs, especially since none of the survivors wound up the same blood color as any of the survivors and thus only knew second hand knowledge as a guideline.

     They were all so strange now. But looking around at his friends, his loved ones, John knew the game hadn't changed who any of them really were. He was still happy to be around them, and their new oddities were funny to observe, breaking up what might otherwise have ever been a potentially dull day at home while the rain poured down outside. Though, who was he to call anything about them odd when he looked the same now? Gray skin and bright nails, sharp teeth and yellowed sclera. Temperature changes, the bright indigo that welled up whenever he got nicked, the massive change in his strength, and the new curled horns that kept clipping corners and doors if he didn't remember to duck slightly.

     Jade was relaxing on the sofa with a healthy lime flush to her cheeks, back only a few hours from an extensive trip gathering plants and seeds outside for study and potential biological experimentation in cross breeding for new and exciting flowers and foods, the horns that had replaced the ears she had sported since achieving god tier poking up from the wild tangles of curls and waves that made up her hair like two large pieces of candy. She wouldn't have minded staying out in the rain normally, keep working even with the mud and the singing of frogs all around her, but today was a laid back day apparently.

     Rose was settled on the floor with her back against Jade's hip and a cushion propping her lower back nicely. A few skeins of yarn were littered around her, differing complementary shades for a new project she seemed intent on sorting out, wanting a challenging pattern now that she felt a better grasp for the craft. She paused the clicking needles and counting for a moment to tuck a strand of black hair back behind a delicately frilled and pierced ear, the soft violet color a near perfect match for the yarn she was working with. Jade shifted and started the  chain reaction of both bashing her elbow against sharp, curled horn and making Rose's head jerk to the side.

     “OW!”

     “Oh! Ow, ow, sorry, sorry, I thought you were still leaned forward!” Jade hurried to say, sitting upright before turning to check where she'd hit as if somehow concerned she'd suddenly be able to break horn with an elbow.

     “Should I move? I'll be leaning forward and back a lot trying to work this out, I keep having to check the diagram and remember all the stupid numbers. I kind of hate this pattern now but I'm already this far, it'd piss me off twice as much to start over again rather than salvage it,” said Rose, glancing towards John when he snickered at them from the other chair. “What's so funny?”

     “You two, I thought it was pretty obvious. Do we need to put tennis balls on the end of those so you don't stab anyone?”

     “I didn't get stabbed so much as I bumped her really hard,” Jade said.

     “Yeah, but you wouldn't bump her if there were big neon tennis balls tucked onto her horns, right?” John continued, sharp grin curling happily. The faint annoyed wiggle of Rose's ears didn't go unnoticed by he nor Jade, who also grinned. Teasing Rose and Roxy was entirely worth it, if only for that cute of a response: the ear fin frondy bits (none of them were sure if there was a proper name for them, and if there was they didn't want to know it) were by far the cutest addition any of them had gotten out of this species change.

     Dave let out a soft noise from where he'd been sitting against the wall, different items in front of him showing various degrees of damage or manipulation from his practice with the new telekinesis his rusty blood had afforded him. An opened container of apple juice with a broken straw triumphantly shoved into place even if it wouldn't work for suction ever again, a fat crayon and some paper showing faint scribbly marks that looks vaguely enough like Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff to be considered for the next update, shoe strings with knots tied into them in different patterns. He looked tired, bags under his eyes and large half gear horns on his head trapping  strands of dark hair as he lifted his head in annoyance.

     “Hey. Are ya'll gonna be keepin' this up for a while, or nah. Some of us are tryin' to do important shit with a minimal headache.”

     “You know, that'd probably be a lot easier to learn if you actually slept at decent times,” Rose said, glad to shift the focus off of her own reactions and onto Dave like the perfect scapegoat he was right then. “Doesn't it take a lot of energy and focus?”

     “It does, and bite me. YOU try sleepin' while a half dozen people are chattering nearby that nobody else can see but you and then come back to me to talk about my sleep habits,” he countered, giving up on focusing for then. Dave slouched back instead of leaning forward, legs unfolding to knock aside his practice setup like an insolent child.

     “Well. I don't have that issue, but I do have to go and dunk myself in water periodically or everything itches and tingles and I start feeling fairly ill,” Rose said.

     “I've gotta eat twice as much as before, it feels like, and I'm not entirely convinced all of Bec got switched over because I get so distracted when I'm exploring and getting samples, you wouldn't believe how awful it gets,” Jade added, pointing to herself with one hand for emphasis.

     “What else, wanna hump people's legs?” John teased.

     Everyone went quiet and Jade's quick retort died on the spot as the air went tenser. Uncomfortable. John grimaced and glanced to the ceiling as he cursed himself a dozen different ways for hitting that obvious of a landmine. It was the bright pink elephant in the room, the question nobody wanted to ask, one of the things the Alternian's had tried to give some tips about but decided it was best for the former humans to sort out on their own for the most part... and which all of them, to John's knowledge, had steadfastly been avoiding talking about.

     Cuddle piles, kissing (while dodging razor teeth), sorting out claws and horns and all had been a norm. Their time together was precious and wonderful. ...but it had entirely been avoiding any intimacy beyond that. No shared bathing, no heavy petting, no oral, no handjobs, no... nothing actually beyond the occasional hopeful grind or brief dry humping motion. It had been a total stand still on that front since coming through that door and being changed, and nobody wanted to talk about it.

     Or they did and just didn't know what to say. John had come close to asking Dave what he thought of the new setup and thought better of it at least a dozen times now, out of fear. Fear of what? On top of being a new species, they were all different versions of a new species. What if his junk looked ten times weirder than Dave's? And what about the girls! What was he even supposed to do with the mess and the lack of control over everything that had replaced the familiar when it was only now starting to feel normal to use the bathroom without being ready for a wrestling match with his own dick? Er... Bulge. Tentacle. Thing.

     …Not to even mention the nook. That was firmly off the table for now save for some curious poking and prodding in the shower. Too different, too new, too intimidating when combined with everything else that had changed down there.

     Everyone was so caught up with their own problems that, save for brief allusions, everything was ignored. ...Till then at least.

     “Well. Even if I did I don't know how well that'd go,” Jade said uncertainly. “I mean. I'm pretty sure it'd get pretty messy, even if it managed to feel good. Everything's really sensitive now.”

     Rose held her breath for a moment before glancing around. John and Dave were staring intently as well, John with caution and Dave with a rare loss for words. She decided to brave the waters.

     “Are all of them sensitive, or just the main one?”

     “... _ All of them _ ?” asked Jade. “Rose how many are you hiding!”

     “Hiding?! I'm not hiding anything! I mean. I was just wondering since we were talking about it being messy, I thought..!” she faltered, finned ears flaring out wider in alarm as her face went stark violet. Grappling for any focus, she pointed an accusing finger at John. “Okay, maybe this is a thing for different color castes. You! You've got, uh. There's. ...You have more than one too now, right?”

     “No! I've got one big pain in the neck and that's all I need, it's obnoxious!” he gushed instantly, glad to have the weight off his back. “The innie bit's a pain, I'm not really sure what to do with that, bu-”

     “Are you serious, John, 'the innie bit'. Is this what you're seriously saying right now?” Jade asked with a snort, unable to resist teasing when something this perfect was set on her lap. Even Dave snorted. “Is that what you were gonna say when you saw me or Rose naked before all this mess? Croon at us and ask how rough we wanted you to touch our  _ innie bits _ ?”

     “It's a dumb nickname for a dumb word anyway, seriously, nook sounds so stupid!” complained John as he crossed his arms indignantly, blue up to his ears. “And. Alright, so we know Rose has more than one of those bulge things now at least, what about you Dave? Are you like me and Jade, only have one? I'm not used to you being quiet voluntarily.”

     Suddenly the center of attention, Dave blinked owlishly and tipped his head in thought. Instead of giving a wise ass response, or a real number, he instead pulled his shirt up and tucked the bottom hem between his dark lips to keep the fabric out of his way. Both hands went for the fly of his dark jeans and undid the zipper.

     “Gi'e a 'econ'n I'h c'n fhn ou',” he muttered around the blockage.

     “Oh what the fuck you don't need to look right  _ now _ ,” John said as he hopped up to his feet. He began to hover a moment later, darting over to where Dave was slouched so he could snag both of his wrists, spreading his arms out and away from his groin a safe distance. “And I call bullshit on you never having looked before, why not just tell us directly like we did?”

     Dave let the fabric fall from his mouth and quirked a brow. “What, and miss the opportunity for a demonstration if asked? What if I said I had six tentapeens chillin' out down there crowding my alien cootch, Egbert. You think I'm gonna tell and not offer to educate curious minds at the first opportunity? Ya'll are all talk and flushin' like a bride bullshittin' at her wedding and here I'm willing to guinea pig with my copious gesticulating lap snausages,” he said.

     “..Well. I mean. ….If you're going to tell  _ and  _ show, I wouldn't complain,” Jade piped up, raising her hand as if asking permission to speak in class. “I'd probably show too. See what's different between rust and lime.”

     “See, someone else who values education,” Dave said with a smirk as he tensed his arms, testing the grip John had on him curiously. ...Damn, he had a firm grab before the change, but after was fucking ridiculous. It was like his hands had been cast in concrete blocks that just happened to be boyfriend shaped. “What about you, Rose, I thought you were all about cultural study and species differences before, that bravado go out the door when you suddenly got your own dick bouquet?”

     “It was different then,” Rose admitted, rubbing her arm, still more than a little shy about it. “...And besides, why the sudden offer to whip your dick out. It's been  _ ages  _ and there hasn't been any sign of wanting to try for some extra action coming from your direction either. I was fairly certain that was a sign of not wanting to figure things out right then.”

     The planned teasing retort died in Dave's mouth and he turned his face to the side to avoid eye contact, finally embarrassed as well.

     “Ah  _ hah  _ I knew it! You were just as don't ask don't tell as the rest of us, weren't you!” Rose said, lurching forward onto her knees to crawl a few paces. Jade lifted up behind her to hover near John, trying to take his hand from around Dave's left wrist so she could link their fingers together carefully instead.

     “Well. Yeah, so what if I was?” he countered. “Not like we ever got the chance to do very much before all this happened, and now suddenly we're playin' Calvin Ball with a chess set.”

     “Why now though?” John asked, cautious about letting go but enjoying the warmer touch of Jade's hand on his skin. “Because we'd been talking about it finally, or just to tease everyone? Or...?”

     Rose's expression changed suddenly, from one of triumph to the curled lift of lips that signified she'd worked out a particularly frustrating puzzle. “...It's because you got turned on thinking about all of them, huh.”

     “Wow Rose, full of yourself much? I didn't suddenly get turned on thinking about your multitude of crotch appendages, I-”

     “ _ Dave _ !”

     “Don't Dave me, I'm teasin', I'm teasin'!” he complained. With his left hand free and everyone nearby, the topic laid on the table and his offer already in the air from earlier, Dave did what he did best: act directly with just enough awareness to question if he made the right choice about ten seconds after he'd acted. He hooked his thumb into the band of his boxers and yanked them down as he lifted his hips, dragging the jeans down with them a few inches to bare himself.

     John swallowed heavily, while Rose and Jade crowded a bit closer to peek as well, trying to compare to their own memories of their own explorations to see what was different right off the bat or the same. Surprisingly, there seemed to be more similarities than not, which seemed to be soothing. ..Well. To Jade and John at least. Rose still seemed a bit concerned, glancing down towards her own lap uncertainly now and then.

     The longer they watched, though, the more the change became apparent and the redder Dave's gray face became. The smooth cleft that signified the opening of his nook looked like it was moving, tensing and relaxing through contractions before the slender tip of a red tentacle slipped into view. It was barely longer than a finger, shy under observation apparently, but slowly began to slip further out into view till it was fully extended and wetly slipping along Dave's shivering thigh.

     “Well. There it is: be shook. The mighty meat truncheon has a new look and arrangement, got some new bonuses. More aerodynamic, I'm pretty sure it could also win an arm wrestlin' match when it gets going. Down sides are it's messy, looks like I jizz kool-aid, and really doesn't seem to enjoy claws,” he explained. “Or zippers. Or not tryin' to literally fuck me in my sleep. Yeah, I wanted to ask about that: that a risk for anyone else or did I get told to go fuck myself one too many time and internalized somethin'.”

     “Swing by my office later and we'll chat about internalized messages, but right now uh. No, you're not alone in that,” said Rose. She had lifted a hand as if to reach out and touch the squirming mass but hesitated, staring down at her own fingers before planting them on the floor. “I suppose oral is off the market as well now, since we all have such sharp teeth.”

     “Dunno. Can't exactly reach my mouth here, Rose, I'm well endowed and I admit to bein' at least a bit of a contortionist in my spare time but I'm pretty sure I still can't suck my own dick yet.”

     John couldn't help but perk up at that. “Yet?”

     “I've got eternity to figure that shit out and get it on lock, don't question boredom John.”

     “Right, then!” Jade declared suddenly, releasing John's hand and darting back to tug her skirt down, fighting against buttons the entire time. “Let's do this! Show and tell time, we'll say it's for science and sort it out later. Staring at Dave's nice, but I want to see everyone else's. You two especially,” she said as she pointed to John and Rose. “You two are up higher on the hemospectrum enough to be cooler blooded, and Rose already mentioned a big difference, this I have GOT to see myself.”

     “I uh. ...Jade are you really sure now's a good time?” John asked, brows furrowed uncertainly. He retracted both of his own hands, resting them near his buckle, then across his stomach before crossing his arms to let one hand hold his opposite elbow. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He could already feel the strange, tense twitch in his stomach and down lower, a hint of dampness that was so unwelcome that John still didn't know how to process it. It wasn't like pre-cum when he was a human: at least that made sense and came from a single spot instead of literally everywhere his dick happened to be touching like some kind of weird slug!

     Eugh, thinking too hard on it was grossing him out all over again and yet the sight of Dave half naked and of Jade merrily stripping down her underwear after her skirt was appealing. It was still nudity from people he was attracted to, still genitals even if they were candy colored and seemed to have a mind of their own. Jade's was a bit bigger than Dave's and twice as lively, extending to its full dimensions with a thick base in a short time, making reaching gestures towards Dave's position as she tussled with her shirt and hair getting tangled together. Her frustrated growl was still quite canine in nature, cute enough that the worries lessened even further.

     Still Jade. Still Dave. Still Rose. Still himself, just a little different.

     “Shit, I thought it was just tenta-peen science happenin', I didn't know it was a titty and gun show too, let me whip these puppies out,” Dave said as he pushed upright to his feet, stepping out of the rest of his clothes as if spontaneous nudity was a common occurrence in his day to day life. “Jade, I know you've got the guns too and I'm kinda stuck in the itty bitty titty committee till I get some hella ripped pecs goin', but I'm pretty sure we can manage some cross appreciation here.”

     “...Rose? What do you think?” John thought to ask quietly when he could pull his eyes away from the dual display of two idiots he loved striking muscle poses with their alien junk performing the wave independent from their movements. “If I put it off too long it's going to be a mess either way. And they're not just showing the bulge, they're  _ naked _ , I kinda feel like the stakes got raised higher.”

     “Ah, nothing like peer pressure to get you to whip your genitals out in front of a large group,” she sighed. “I think I'll be... stepping back for a moment or two longer, educational though this be.”

     “I'm pretty sure there's nothing to be self conscious about,” John said, tone lending the idea that he was trying his best to convince himself of that fact as well. He was inching his hands closer to his buckle, then cautiously undoing it with a tension that was charming. It fit him, Rose thought. Far enough from a smooth talker and walker that there were a few trips to his steps and twice as many hurried gestures to catch up and make up for it by smoothing things over. “I mean. Look at them, they seem to be having fun without even doing anything. Isn't that kind of the point?”

     Rose's face twisted uncertainly and the delicate fronds of her ears twitched a few times. “How about this: you first. I promise I'll join the weird naked party if you pull yours out too, and on the promise that if a single one of you so much as giggles I'm getting dressed and moving over with Roxy for a month,” she said as she raised her tone loud enough to catch Jade and Dave's attention.

     The pair gave a thumbs up before looking expectantly at John, Jade with her hands on her hips and Dave floating over closer to get in John's face suddenly enough that the taller troll leaned back and turned them in a rolling circle, winding up with John's feet nearly touching the ceiling and Dave hanging on to his horns for counterbalance like an astronaut fearing being flung out into the inky blackness of space.

     “Whoa,  **_whoa_ ** , Dave what the fuck!”

     “You need help with those pants, or were you just gonna chill out and tease us all day with just the possibility of takin' them off?” asked Dave, smirk widening when John shook his head to try dislodging him and failed to break the grip. Grateful as John was that the horns weren't ridiculously sensitive, they were sensitive enough that he didn't want to know what it was like to somehow break one by accident. Especially an accident as stupid as this. Oh, whoops, I broke a fucking horn because my stupid sexy god boyfriend was hanging off of my head like a jungle gym while I was floating upside down being teased by him and my stupid sexy girlfriend ectosister.

     ...He really needed to stop trying to rationalize things out in his head, they kept winding up needlessly confusing and making everything seem even more like a big mess.

     “No, I can take them off just fine,” he defended, tensing his knees together and trying to force his eyes to stare past the dark tint of Dave's shades and into his eyes instead of looking at the bright red wriggling mass that was seeking attention just as desperately as before. John failed within ten seconds. “What's with the prolonged stiffy? Get off on voyeurism or something? Seriously, leggo, I've got the pants situation entirely under control here.”

     The feel of sharp teeth and a warm mouth at the side of John's throat made him tense, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead in a momentary panic. The tickle of Jade's hair was surprisingly gentle, a jellyfish's tendrils swaying loosely in the clear open expanse of the space above the living room floor they were inhabiting in a mostly nude cluster, each strand moving as if caught up in water. It was pretty fleeting thought till he felt claws at the bottom hem of his shirt, scratching along his stomach and up over the small dark nubs at the edges of his abdomen.

     “John, maybe you should let us help after all? It'd probably be better to get an up close and personal look anyway,” she hummed. John felt the press of strong, fluidly moving muscle against his ass and held his breath, trying to fight down the increasing feeling of distinct moisture he was feeling between his legs.

     No, no, no, if he wasn't careful it'd-!

     “Yeah, John, let us help. Science education or whatever,” Dave said. He relinquished his grip on the wavy horns in favor of floating down more towards eye level, pulling his shades up and resting them out of the way at the front of his horns lowest gear toothed edge, and grinned. It was a softer smile than the smirk from earlier, more familiar, more earnest. More open. “All seriousness here man: I get it. The gray's weird, the new plumbing's weird. It's all weird as fuck. But if I was still a little pink monkey I'd still be tryin' to get in your pants right now. This is what we've got, why not roll with it? Fine somethin' we like.”

     “Is it not as appealing like this?” Jade asked, voice soft but curious. “It's not what we grew up appreciating or being interested in, after all. It's kind of a sudden new taste!”

     John groaned and grit his teeth, clenching his eyes shut as he shook his head. “No, no, it's appealing! I mean. There's a lot that's the same, and I was  _ really  _ interested in everything before, just. Really, I've got this, it's just. ...It's weird.”

     “Pretty sure we're past weird,” hummed Dave, reaching down to apply pressure to the sides of the buckle John continue to hold, guiding the zipper down easily enough even with his subtle resistance. Jade was continuing to trace her nails along and scratch at John's chest, making him squirm by applying her teeth to the side of his neck any time he moved too much or started to tense up. It was threatening in just the right way to finally make John lose the battle so they could win the war.

     With his next groan dipped in a strangled sounding whine, Dave managed to tug John's pants open. Or, he at least made enough of an opening for John's bulge to come out on its own. It was easily twice the length of Jade's and quite thick, flared at a few points from top the bottom, with a fat base that didn't seem to want to accept that that was the very end of its ability to emerge from his body. It reached out towards the closest body, wrapping loosely around Dave's wrist at first before coming loose and trying to settle around his neck instead, wanting to try reaching towards his mouth despite it being such an unwelcoming haven.

     Apparently not all human instincts were gone now. The amount of times John had caught himself wondering what it would look like to have Dave on his knees in front of him had been too many to properly count by the time he finished puberty, let alone even after the change had happened.

     Wearing his dick as a necklace wasn't part of that fantasy, but you know, John was willing to take what he could get. Beggars couldn't afford to be choosers.

     Dave seemed to be just as amused by the sudden turn of events, reaching up to cautiously grasp one of the thicker sections of John's tentabulge, wanting to get a clear look at it while making it easier for Jade to get a look at as well.

     “Rose, you seein' this? It's like it's gonna choke me out. I've got a new pet boa, but instead of a derpy face and flickin' tongue it drools cum and -” Dave trailed off, going quieter. He hummed and glanced down as it surprised by something. “...Y'know, that analogy was a lot funnier in my head, sounds kinda nasty when I say it out loud. Still though, look at this shit, it's like. My entire fucking arm. Can that even  _ fit  _ in a nook, or is it just gonna wiggle around all hopefully hopin' to get a hot wiggle back?”

     “Yes, I'm seeing it, there's nothing else in this room to look at anymore aside from three tentacles, an excellent pair of breasts, and your extremely skinny excuse for an ass,” she said. Yet still Rose didn't rise up to join them all, didn't dare put a hand anywhere near her own lap. She watched with intent eyes, ear fronds flared out to their full extent as if listening for every wet slither, face streaked with the same flush from earlier. On closer inspection, however, she was indeed moving. Slow subtle shifts of her bent legs, as if she were wearing trying to work a set of panties back to where they were supposed to be sitting.

     Or as if she were trying to forcefully contain a mass of sexual responses that were far less subtle than anything on the original Earth ever was.

     “Not weird at all, John,” Jade agreed. “Feel better you joined the no pants party? It's a nice one! It's just...”

     “Jade it's  _ weird _ !” John repeated, not trying to cover himself anymore. The proverbial cat was out of its bag and would remain as such till wrangled into submission. By his own hand if needs be, now that he was able to outright ask Dave how to actually accomplish that. Or either of the girls actually, he realized, now that they were all dealing with the same setup. “I mean. Yeah, you and Dave have the same thing going on but they're similar enough. I can't hide mine even if I tried if it comes out all the way! Do you know how humiliating random boners were in public school?”

     “...John I grew up on an island in the middle of fucking nowhere, how am I supposed to know about public school norms let alone the effects of having a boner in the middle of one,” she asked in a flat tone, stopping her touching and scratching and biting in favor of grabbing onto John's shirt again and yanking upwards to keep him busy. The fabric tangled on his horns and over his arms, blinding him and making him squawk for a moment before she darted away, hovering closer towards Rose with a grin.

     Off went the pants with a deft yank downwards before Dave drifted backwards as well, giving their beloved indigo time to twist and turn in midair and buying them more than enough time to pester their sea dweller instead.

     “You are  _ not  _ yanking my skirt down,” Rose insisted, narrowing her eyes towards her datemates with distrust, sharp teeth bared. Her hands clasped over her thighs like a barricade when the troublemakers grinned.

     Challenge accepted, then.

     John grumbled and twisted another way, one arm straight and the other bent at a sharp angle to try unhooking things from his horns tips instead of ripping roles in anything. Every move had to be somewhat delicate now. “Rose, you promised earlier! Look, I'm doing it too now, it's your turn. ...Wait, what  _ am  _ I doing?” he muttered suddenly.

     Quick as a flash, John had remembered that with floating came the other god powers, and the offending garment dropped to the floor with a soft whump as he streaked out of it, a wisp of breeze itself. Stupid, stupid man, so many things were easier when the whole god tier powers were in play. ...Well. Except against other god tiers, at least. He reformed flat on his feet and bare as the day he was born about five feet away from Rose's side, hair twice the mess as usual from the tangle with the interloping shirt and newly excited bulge still fully extended and looking more than willing to grasp and grapple at anything warm in range.

     Surrounded now in ever closer proximity by three naked datemates, Rose doubled down on her uncertainty the same as John had. She could feel the first presses and tickles, the moisture, and knew from cautious reaches down while bathing to make friends with her new anatomy that once they came out they didn't like going away without either a lot of time or some decent stimulation, neither of which was a feasible option for the whole lack of desire to show herself in the first place.

     “Well, promises are meant to be broken sometimes,” she insisted, gripping her skirt with her hands a bit tighter.

     Same as they had with John before, Dave and Jade continued to advance, settling on their knees at either side of her hips. They leaned forwards in tandem, synchronized enough that she found herself wondering if Dave had implemented any pauses to make a battle plan with Jade and trying to decide how best to make him admit it even if he had. She pushed her shoulders up tensely, trying to block them from getting too close to her gills without even giving it a second thought.

     “What can we do to make it alright,” Jade said, leaning forward to kiss the ball of Rose's shoulder. “This is supposed to be fun! We're already around each other all the time, we were already wanting to... y'know, before. And I'm sure your bulge looks really pretty.”

     “Only you could say a writhing mass of tentacles looks pretty,” Rose murmured, though her tone was soft. Dave had aimed for her ear instead of her shoulder, kissing at the frilled edge a few times till it wiggled at him reflexively, following it up with warm jets of air. Everything about Jade and Dave felt far warmer than it ever had before, lips and fingers like being heated by a mug of coffee after walking out in the snow all day.

     “You too. Tentacles can be really pretty, Rose, you need to look into sea life more it's fascinating how strange things can look the deeper down you go shape-wise but still be gorgeous and glowy. Besides, if you really  _ do  _ have multiple bulges then it'll be even easier to be tangle buddies, right?”

     “ _ Jade _ .”

     “Well we would! How awesome is that!” she said excitedly, kissing along her shoulder again till Dave's tactic seemed to pique her interest enough to get her to mimic it. Rose groaned quietly and squirmed in place, wanting to lean back from the tickling feelings as much as lean into them for more pressure and contact. At least, until she felt Dave's hand trying to snake towards her leg, stirring her attention enough to reflexively reach out and swat at him.

     Quick as a literal flash, Dave had escaped the reach of her claws and stopped near John's side instead, sticking his tongue out at her irritated growl.

     “Ugh, I don't know what's worse: you moving so quickly or you being a tease,” Rose said, tone weakening near the end as Jade took advantage of the distraction and leaned in to kiss along the delicate edges of her gills now that they were more readily exposed. She let out a reedy, clicking noise of bliss and shivered in place, brows furrowed. “Ah, shit..!”

     “Psh, Rose, I'm not a tease. A tease'd get you close then back off, might never finish up. I teased you, yeah, but I more than fully intend to walk the walk I'm talkin',” Dave said. “Allow me to demonstrate with the studio audience.”

     John looked over at him warily, bright blue of his eyes looking brighter when he caught wind of the potential ahead. “Wait, the studio audie- hhhhholy fuck, easy, _easy,_ **_be gentle_**!” he all but pleaded when Dave grasped hold of the thinner end of his bulge and squeezed to get his attention.

     “Pretty sure your dick could literally snap me in half if you weren't bein' careful with it, Egbert, but sure thing. I'll be more delicate,” Dave promised as he loosened his grip around the bright blue tentacle. It wiggled wetly against his palm and the pads of his fingers while he made gentle kneading motions instead, his other hand going lower to tease the length and various bumps and thickenings down to the root. Blue slimy liquid coated his hands in no time and slowly began to drip in a puddle to the floor, occasionally being punctuated by droplets of red. “Damn.. I take it you like that, huh?”

     “No shit,” John muttered, leaning down to press his forehead against Dave's, cautious about their horns locking or bumping uncomfortably. At a particularly pleasurable squeeze and the warm, damp feeling of Dave's own bulge against his leg, curiously reaching out towards him for some kind of reciprocation, he couldn't help but finally give in to its reaching with a reedy click and purr similar to Rose over by the sofa. Almost immediately, however, Dave arched his hips away.

     “Ah, ah, not yet.”

     “Why? Pretty sure a dick grab from a boyfriend is a clear sign for a return dick grab? Bulge grab. Tentacle... petting...? I don't know what we're doing here actually, but pretty sure yours feels the same as mine and I want to make you feel the same things I am,” John tried to explain.

     “No, yeah, it does but like. You've still got some hella claws goin' on man, bite'm real quick. Your junk can take a bit of a beatin' it seems like, but my shit's way sensitive and you ain't gettin' by with just petting that thing. We're going full exploratory dive with this shit. No scratch, please and fuckin' thank. I can't even goddamn imagine that, actually. How the fuck do you heal somethin' that retracts into your body? Dry off a section and bandage it and just keep forcibly aroused till it's all better? Or lik-”

     “Okay, okay, I'm biting them! I'm biting them, sheesh,” muttered John. He didn't wipe away a single droplet of the red slime that had reached his hand, instead popping his fingertips into his mouth without a second thought as he nipped and crunched his hardened claws against the sharpest sections of his teeth.

     If only his father could see him now, he'd be chewing him out over such a bad habit! It'd been years since he bit his nails, and now here he was biting his claws!

     ...Err. Actually, no. He didn't want to think of what his father would think if he could see him now with his alien boyfriend's weird junk still tangling wetly along his thigh as if automatically seeking his nook out, and his girlfriend trying to coax his other girlfriend's clothes off of her with kisses and gentle touches and playful bites.

     It made for a cute scene really. Jade had managed to get Rose interested enough in taking her shirt off, though anything below the waist was still a no go apparently, despite the patch of violet that was soaking through the cloth of her skirt right above her thighs as if there had been an unfortunate drink spill. Rose was getting less shy now that more skin was showing, already reaching up to touch and stroke gentle clawed lines over skin and toned muscle she knew like the back of her own hand, gray or not.

     “Rose that tickles! I'm trying to sex you up, not get tickled!” Jade hissed under her breath when a sharp nail caught a particularly reactive part of her flank, tone playful and light, face all smiles.

     “Why can't it be both? You're cute when you're squirming.”

     “Ya'll are just  _ precious _ ,” joked Dave as he watched on, hips slowly starting to rock the more his bulge caught and tangled against John's cool length as he waited.”But Rose, when in the world've you ever been this shy when confronted with a great pair of boobs? Or all this?” he asked as he gestured to himself showily, as well as to John who seemed to be idly struggling with a stubborn claw that didn't want to break cleanly for him and all his focused biting attempts.

     “I'm not being shy, David, shut up. Just because some of us know how to pace ourselves instead of strutting about like a showy rooster doesn't mean there's shyness to blame. Jade is offering quite a treat and I intend to savor it,” she huffed. The words did seem to spur her on however, at least judging from the fact that it was then that she reached up to snake her arms around Jade's waist and drag her down closer, fangs on display as she parted her lips and leaned down, snaking a tongue over a dark nipple.

     “Can confirm: not shy. No shyness here. Science has proven the lack of shyness, and also that sensitivity remains in tact which is a surprise given the extra presence of chitin and keratin,” Jade said as she arched her back, eyes drifting shut before she hummed.

     “How's that a surprise at all, Jade, Dave and I both went after your boobs within the last few months,” John asked as the last claw finally dropped off with a satisfying pop. Dave didn't stop him as he reached down this time, delicately taking hold of the red bulge as it slipped left and right, and John grinned as it curled around his fingers to squeeze him. “Wow, yours squeezes pretty hard for how uh..”

     “Don't finish that thought, John. Just sayin'. I know where it's going, and your overly large self is not a good frame of measure at all,” Dave muttered under his breath. He released a hand from reigning in John's tentabulge and focused it Rose and Jade's direction. Very softly he urged “John. Watch this.”

     The practice had paid off. Slowly at first, the bottom hem of Rose's skirt began to rise up and stiffen flat as if it were under pressure by unseen hands tugging in opposite directions. Distracted as she was with Jade painting her stomach lime and a warm tongue against the base of her horns and against the fronds of her ears, Rose didn't seem to notice anything changing. Not till the fabric ripped at least, splitting in a jagged line directly over her lap and up to the waist band.

     Her bulge, already fighting out of the constraints of her panties, was indeed a multiple. A rather attractive multiple from the brief direct look John and Dave managed to get, several semi-transparent violet appendages that let off a chill slime from the joined base above the nook as well as from the flowery looking edges that fanned out left and right near the end of each section. Rose's dick was a bouquet of sea anemones and none of them could even compare.

     Jade whipped her head down when Rose released her nipple and gasped in shock, getting a good look at what was eagerly reaching for her body and grinning wide as possible.

     “Oh! Rose, you look so cute! Look at them all, they're so pretty, why would you try to hide thi-” she got out before Rose tugged her down without warning, trying to instinctively hide what was embarrassing her with the nearest cover. Namely, her girlfriend. “OH!” Jade gasped again, eyes going wide as dinner plates. “...Oh.. Oh,  _ Rose _ ..” she crooned right afterward.

     Her toes curled before Jade rose up a few inches on her knees, pushing back against Rose's suddenly uncertain slackened grip, wanting to look down again. Several of Rose's tentacles had eagerly gone to tangle around her own lime toned length, while the others had set to work trying to gain access to her nook, spreading cool slime from front to back any time one of them squirmed or probed in place.

     “Are you able..are you able to  _ control  _ any of these?” asked Jade breathlessly, bright eyes looking glazed, cheeks flushing a lovely green. “Are they doing this on their own, or can you direct them?”

     “I. I'm not sure if I can control them individually but... If I theoretically  _ could _ is there anything you'd want me to do with them?” Rose asked, uncertain but not as panicked as before. There was quite a different thing happening now, the catfish was out of the basket, and it would be useless to do anything but roll forward.

     “If you keep doing what you're doing already, that's  _ plenty  _ to start with,” Jade promised. She wavered for a moment unsteadily as two tendrils flexed and pressed at the outer edges of her nook again, spreading more cool slickness around the second they sensed the rivulets of green she was beginning to let out. Her bulge had curled under the exploratory squeezes and prods and was trying to press through the mass in hope of seeking Rose's nook instinctively in turn. A huff of a laugh escaped Jade's lips, hands resting on her girlfriend's shoulders beginning a kneading motion. “See? Just like I said. Tangle buddies, Rose.”

     “ _ Jade _ .”

     “Tangle buddies! This is so awesome!! Why did we wait this long to have sex?!”

     “The whole universe ending thing kinda took priority, and then the whole genetics whisking around in a blender to suit a game's code for the new non-cancerous frog universe thing happened. So uh.. sex kind of took a back seat,” John said, not looking up as he splayed his fingers and stroked down Dave's bulge to the peak of his nook and deftly slipped a finger inside. Dave squeezed against his hand and let out a soft sound that was pretty fucking cute before squeezing along his bulge hard enough that it stung in the best possible way. It stopped being so cute when the rust blood swayed in place and wound up making them mutually yank each other's bulges hard enough they tried to retract back into their bodies.

     “JESUS fucking Christ could you not?!”

     John winced and shoved his hands down over his own groin before flashing his teeth at Dave, knocking his knees inward to both keep his balance and give his naked self a sense of extra protection that the streaks of red and indigo just didn't offer him otherwise. “Not what! You're the one who wavered, holy shit, I know I'm bigger than you but did you really need to yank on it like a curtain cord?”

     “Standing up sex is stupid. Canceled. Over. Done,” Dave grimaced, trying to coax his bulge back out. It remained stubbornly retracted as if fearing further repercussions instead of the magical touches it had been gifted pre-yanking from the big cool skinned hand.

     “Wait, canceled? Do we just... get dressed now? Give them privacy?” John asked, looking hurt.

     “No,” Rose said, “what you do is come over to 'them' and acknowledge we're here and get in on the pileup. It's what was going to happen even when we were human, right? We sure came close a few times, and I already know I wanted my first time to be with  _ all  _ of you.”

     Biting his lip, John glanced at the pair before looking to Dave, happy to meet his eyes directly without needing to seek them out. He lifted his hand and held it out palm up, brows furrowed worriedly as if somehow the coming answer might be a firm 'No' instead of the enthusiastic yes he knew it would be in his heart. “It would be rude to leave a lady waiting, right? Do you want to go over?”

     Dave sighed in a long suffering way, shook his head, and clasped John's wrist instead of taking his hand so he could lead him over to where the girls were settled. Obviously this was needing to happen, whether John was aware he could in fact take the first steps or not. “As if you even need to ask me twice. Rose and I already talked about this stuff before a lot, we've got the same kinda plans in mind for firsts. ...If I couldn't have my full first time with all ya'll I was at LEAST gonna ensure my second time was with everyone piled up.”

     “It'd feel weird without everyone there, huh,” said John softly, steps steady all the way to Rose's side. He and Dave sat down on the floor beside each other with the edges of their knees touching before Dave leaned to kiss Rose's lips briefly, smoothing her bangs back from her flushed looking forehead.

     “...Sorry for teasin' ya earlier.”

     “Why Dave, I thought you said it wasn't teasing if you were going to give up the goods?”

     “Touché.”

     Rose moved her hips just enough to make her bulges strain and set to wriggling again with increased vigor, delving deeper while also milking along Jade's length before John's left hand joined the fray, teasing the pads of his fingers along the blunted green tip. He kissed her neck after flicking back the long tangle of dark hair, the side of her shoulder, the side of her jaw as she started to move as well, swaying her hips in a slow circle to coax the nest of bulges to go where she wanted them. It was less a grinding exercise, less a seeking of friction as it would have been as a human, and far more of a steady dance considering that neither Rose nor Jade seemed able to actually direct their genitals with any certainty.

     Nor was John for that matter, bulge apparently recovered enough to go seeking the damp sounds and colorful sight he was witnessing till Dave coaxed it back his direction. Rose and Jade were increasingly in their own worlds, though they both seemed to appreciate the kisses and touches, the soft press of tooth or claw that drew them back to the other portions of their blood pushers. Dave, with his overly warm hands and his determined scooting even closer till their thighs pressed together, didn't wait much longer before mimicking Jade's pose on his sister's lap and climbing up to rest his knees atop John's lap. He glanced down uncertainly and chewed at his lip as he guided the tentabulge in the right direction, allowing it to squeeze at his leg and slither up between his thighs.

     “You sure?” John asked, far behind the point where it would've been useful to ask such a question. Dave shot him a look, lifted his hands up around his thick neck, and yanked him into a fangy kiss as the bulge finally reached peak impatience and started to slither inward to the heated nook it had managed to locate again. Traces of blue smeared against Dave's lips from the thin cut he'd given John's lower lip when he gasped, body starting to shake as he seemed to wilt in place. Worried, John grasped either side of Dave's waist and lifted upwards to steady him, but nowhere far enough to pull him off of the thrilled bulge he was continuing to steadily welcome. “Dave?”

     “Fffffffffff- You literally wa-ahh... wait till you're balls deep to ask if I'm alright? I'm fanfucki-shitshitshit...!  _ FANTASTIC _ ,” Dave got out, letting his head roll back with his mouth open in a steadily rolling pant. His own bulge had re-emerged entirely to twist downwards, curling and coiling around John's length as each section continued inwards as if trying to steady the advance and track progress.

     “You're half way down, Dave, and I don't think I even have balls anymore. Not... really I mean? There's something there I'm pretty sure,” John said, mouth running as fast as his mind as he watched Dave's bulge leave pretty red stripes against his own blueish flesh.

     “Shame globes, I know that much,” Rose said, voice wavering in a groan. “John  _ shut up  _ for just a moment, Dave's rubbing off on you.”

     “Get glasses, Rose, this's more than rubbin' off on,” came an immediate reply from the warm body on his lap. John had no complaints, nor anything further to add considering she was right. There was a time and a place, and most likely both would arrive when his thought process wasn't being put through a meat shredder.

     It was no wonder the girls were off in their own world. John was having trouble remembering to breathe, to think, to not drool with just one tentabulge in action, he couldn't understand how Rose had several in action and was still able to sit upright without her eyes rolling back in her head. When he felt his bulge bend gently under Dave's weight, the portion that wasn't able to fit and unwilling to push deeper when already wonderfully snug more than happy to throb against the lower curve of his ass like a custom fit seat, his resolve melted even further. Dave's bulge was able to reach his nook now, frantically slapping at the outside a few times before surging in far as possible, the appendage straining at the root.

     There was no urge to rock his hips in place, John found, which was kind of a surprise. When he'd been human, the years during puberty he was certain he'd give himself rug burn just keeping up with himself and the urges, and during some of the make out sessions even once the game ended there had been some definite evenings spent rocking against cushions or his own mattress. Yet now that everyone was unsheathed, now that he and Dave were locked in this strange penetration hug, he didn't want to risk moving or dislodging his lover at all.

     Jade seemed to be on to something with her circular hip movements, the occasional arches of her back, the way her skin twitched and shivered along her sides and up over her breasts whenever she gasped or let out soft sounds that John couldn't even really begin to describe. They were the same affectionate clicks, the trills, the chitters that sounded like a background hum to her subtle curses that grew louder whenever something felt particularly nice. The green and purple fluid was already making a puddle beneath them on the floor, with more purple quick to start following thanks to he and Dave's additions blending together.

     Rose was enjoying the show in an overwhelmed daze, violet eyes flicking from Jade's body that occasionally was dusted with kisses and bites over towards Dave jittering and melting any time the thick nubs from John's bulge stretched or pressed against his insides just right and John keeping him steady. Their eyes met for a moment and John smiled awkwardly, a curl of his lips and furrow of brows missing only a soft laugh to finish the look she knew so well. The fact such a look was happening while two of their datemates were so eagerly riding their laps made the situation kind of funny, but at the same time added a thrill to it. Taking a deep breath and biting a plump lip with a fang, Rose planted her left hand on the ground, gripped Jade's right hip hard, and tipped her own hips to the side to coax her closer to Dave.

     It took only a moment of being in range for the warmer blooded trolls of the group to take the hint, Jade releasing her grips on Rose in favor of leaning towards Dave's face, a hand tangling up in his hair and tugging it hard to keep his attention. His own fingers twisted tightly into locks of her mane and tugged right back like a child having a temper tantrum, yet instead of pain there was only bliss. The kiss was heated as their skin, ferocious, needy bordering on feral as they pressed together, and John could feel the effects the extra stimulation was having on Dave's tentabulge as much as the rest of his body. It wasn't just motion, pressure, movement, it was.. something else. Something extra that he wasn't able to place till it was almost palpable.

     John recalled something in the back of his mind from what felt like a lifetime ago, something that he just knew he'd be needing to ask Rose about when this magical moment had passed and talking normally would be possible again. A science class he'd sort of mostly been paying attention to between pages of the comic he was actually paying attention to had been talking about pheromones, how they worked, what they did. He'd absorbed enough information for it to be at least partly memorable.

     What ELSE about the weird alien junk did they all not know? What else could they do that they wouldn't have noticed till now? What would have possibly been missed till everyone was naked and finally indulging in something they'd been looking forward to for ages?

     Everyone smelled the same to him, or at least John was fairly sure they did, but he was certain that he hadn't felt his skin  _ burn  _ and tingle till Dave had started to kiss him and till their bulges touched, hadn't felt the tingles up his spine till that red tendril had penetrated. Rose and Jade hadn't looked half stoned till theirs had connected either. ...Yeah, he'd definitely need to ask everyone else about this later.

     If he remembered, at least. Didn't seem as important anymore to focus on. The new goal planting itself in John's mind while watching Dave and Jade, while looking at just how pretty Rose looked with her new coloration and sharp edges alongside soft ones, and while feeling his cool blooded temperature rise was 'More'.

     More was always better, just like how bigger was better, supposedly. Guess he'd find out soon.

     “Jade, move over,” John grunted, planting his hands on the ground and pushing himself up into an awkward stance like some kind of crouched crab. Dave tensed his knees tightly at the outside of John's thighs and yanked Jade's hair a little harder till she snarled at him and tried to drag him forwards and down towards her face again to compensate for his sudden height boost on John's lap.

     “What?” she said, not looking his direction, tone approaching irritated. This was not something she wanted to be interrupted from, it felt important not to be bothered, why was John changing how things were going when they were going so good! “Move  _ where _ ? I don't think I could move if I wanted to!”

     “Well, then budge a little bit, I'm coming closer,” explained John as he shifted himself slow and careful up alongside Rose's torso. He kept Dave mostly still with his hands at his hips, thankful for the extra strength he'd gained and how effortless the action was, and helped to get him aligned with Jade once more as he lifted one of his own long legs and slung it up onto Jade's shoulder. “Hold this for me?”

     “What in the world are you doing now, John?” Rose said, words bordering on slurring, relaxed and dreamy a mile beyond where she was settled with her eyes half open. Her hips rose and fell at times to go against Jade's own determined circle and sway for maximum efficiency, flush spread down her face and torso towards her bulges gone bright enough for the normally faint outlines of freckles stood out like stars. The softly frilled gills at her neck were splayed out in full display, shivering as much as the decorative fronds on the edges of her ears.

     John waggled his brows at her, his free hand reaching up and over to rub the sharp tip of her nearest horn appreciatively. (…Fuck, was that another weird troll thing, or was it just a weird John thing. He didn't really feel like pondering the ramifications of the sudden newfound horn appreciation and decided to pack that away to process down the road.) “I'll try to get mine to pull back a bit, but. I'm close enough to reach like this, right? Aim our way.”

     “...Uh. John, I think you're seriously overestimating how much control I have over these. Which is to say I have next to none I think, they do as the-  _ fuck  _ Jade don't tense so much, it feels like you're going to bite them off down there!”

     “I can't help it!!”

     “Rose, just try,” John urged, taking his hand back to lift Dave up securely instead, screwing up his face as he withdrew the oversized bulge out a few inches, one of the knobby portions leaving Dave's body far easier than it had entered now that so much extra fluid had accumulated. Yeesh, no wonder there'd been a lot of talk of buckets. This entire thing was probably way more hygenic in a tub or a shower or- “Here, see? Aim this way, he's got room and I do too.”

     “But why? Aren't we already engaged enough as it is? Are you a size queen too John. Dave did rub off on you, didn't he. Are you trying to ask me to double stuff your proverbial Oreo out of some form of altruistic solidarity for Dave to help him accept that his wants and needs are valid, or are you trying to hint that you're actually a natural bottom and that if you top too hard you'll die,” Rose all but purred, the curl of her dark tinted lips being the only difference in the monotone delivery that seemed to run in the branches of the StriLonde family tree.

     “It's obvious why, are you serious?” John muttered, waiting till she arched a brow at him before breaking out in the biggest, most shit eating-est grin he was physically capable of. “How else can we be tangle buddies if we're not ALL tangled?”

     Though Rose claimed she had no control of her multiple tentabulges, it seemed to John that she was lying considering how quickly one snaked over and bum rushed his nook in record time, slamming into place alongside Dave's before coiling around the red appendage and squeezing tight. There was loving malice in the sharp kiss of her nails on John's forearm, a long scratch, eyes promising a follow-up of some form later. Perhaps more direct retribution.

     Dave yipped into Jade's mouth and seized up, bearing down hard as he could on John's bulge, before coating his nook and Rose's bulge in warm red slime as he moaned like his life depended on it. Jade followed right afterwards, painting Rose's lap green while Rose herself and John added blue and violet to the mess they'd all created. Dave shook as he lifted himself higher on his knees, his own overly sensitive bulge withdrawing from John's nook and snaking back into his body, thankful when John's bulge also seemed to lose some of its girth and interest as it withdrew inch by inch. Jade remained on Rose's lap till her own decorative nest of bulges went back the way they'd come, condensing against each other as if they were a single solid section like the root before disappearing into her body again, then lay down on top of her to cuddle.

     Everyone was messy, and yet nobody was overheated or too chilled thanks to the temperature differences. They were cozy, comfortable, and blessedly in contact with each other once John dragged Dave up his torso to balance him as Jade was balanced on Rose, albeit with his shorter legs making the resulting starfish position far more satisfying by comparison.

     Nobody spoke for a while. They took in one another's presence as the refreshment it was, a vital piece of comfort, an itch that had been scratched. They felt closer than before, and now also a lot less scared of this part of their new realities even if fear wasn't the label initially thought of. A hurdle had been passed, and now whatever was next lay ahead for another day, leaving them all in blissful slimy after glow.

     Jade stretched her legs, pointed her toes, and sighed before going limp again.

     “I think that explained a lot more science than I thought it would. Pretty sure I didn't get nearly all of the information though, I'm gonna need a few repeats to really get every bit of data I can.”

     “Right now? Fuck, gimme a breather,” Dave mumbled lazily. “Haven't you ever heard of afterglow?”

     “I have!” she said brightly. “I've also heard of refractory periods, and I've got no idea how long it takes for trolls or different blood colors to recover!”

     “John? John, it's me! Roxy used the last of the sugar earlier in her coffee, and Jake said you should all probably still be home,” a voice said from the other side of the room as the front door popped open. John froze and sucked in a breath, Jade peered over his shoulder but didn't move, Rose slipped her knees further together as if it would cover her any more or hide any of the mess they'd made. Dave didn't look up at all, ass on display and shame nowhere in the new universe to be found, already knowing there was nothing to be done about the situation as Jane came into the room sideways so she could close the door. “I hope you don't mind me just letting myself in but if I leave those other things sitting out too long I'll have to re-chill them for a while and then take them out all over again and I'd much rather just finish this recipe while I've got the ti-”

     Jane stared directly at three sets of eyes and an ass for a few pulses of her blood pusher, a rainbow of fluid beneath and all over their naked bodies and perhaps twenty steps between them and herself, before silently turning around and closing the door behind her with a quiet click.

     The four on the floor stared doorwards for a long minute before Rose broke the silence with a hiccuped snort followed by laughter that was hard to control. Infected, Jade began to giggle as well as Dave. John joined in last, though his expression almost looked pained from how hard he was hooting.

     “Damn it, do you guys even know what we're in for now?! This is no doubt going to unleash retribution pranks the likes of which nobody on Earth C has ever seen befo-!”

     “That's nice, John,” Dave said, papping his cheek lazily, still not wanting to lift his head up too far. “Let's enjoy whatever little peace we've got left till the group chat gets going because of this.”

     Four distinct chimes, all from different devices in the same room, alerted them to the new message they'd all been pinged to at the same time. Then another four chimes. And another. And another. Dave cussed and dropped his face down against John's chest, mashing his nose flat and muffling himself.

     Well. The peace and quiet was nice while it lasted.


End file.
